RALPH MARSHALL |
Private 7633885.
Royal Ordinance Corps.
Died Wednesday 4th August 1943 aged 31
Grave ref. 8. C. 3. Chungkai War Cemetery. Thailand.
Ralph Marshall was the son of John George
and Rebecca Marshall and the husband of Marjorie Ann Marshall of Kirkby-in-Ashfield,
Nottinghamshire.
Prior to enlisting in the forces, Ralph
worked in James Oakes Pipe yard, and is listed on the company’s Roll of Honour
of Employees Serving with H.M. Forces.
Ralph died on Wednesday 4th August 1943, aged 31
years. He had been taken prisoner by the Japanese and was working on the
notorious Burma-Siam Railway. Construction
of the railway, designed to improve communications for the Japanese Army,
started in October 1942. The
railway some 265 miles long, was completed fourteen months later in December
1943. It is estimated that some
13,000 prisoners of war died and were buried along the railway.
A further 80,000 to 100,000 civilians also gave their lives in its
construction. Over 400 lives were
lost for every mile of its length.
Ralph is buried in Chungkai War Cemetery, Thailand, Grave Ref 8. C. 3.